Credit Score Improvement Advisor — Personalised 90-Day Plan

FICO score has five components weighted very differently. Payment history is 35% — a single 30-day late payment can drop your score 60–110 points and stays on your report for 7 years. Credit utilisation is 30% — the percentage of your available credit you are using on revolving accounts. Length of credit history is 15%, credit mix is 10%, and new credit (recent inquiries and accounts) is 10%.

The practical takeaway: the two highest-leverage levers are paying every bill on time (set up autopay for at least the minimum) and keeping utilisation low. Getting from 50% utilisation to under 10% can lift a score 50–80 points within one or two billing cycles, faster than any other action. The Credit Score Improvement Advisor identifies which factor is dragging your score down most and suggests the highest-leverage fix.

Studies by the FTC and Consumer Reports consistently find that 1 in 4 to 1 in 3 credit reports contain at least one error material enough to affect borrowing. Common errors: accounts that were not yours, balances reported incorrectly, late payments that were actually on time, and old accounts incorrectly listed as open or delinquent.

Dispute process: pull all three reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com, list every item that looks wrong, and dispute online with each bureau (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) — they have 30 days to investigate and remove or verify. Keep records of everything. Disputing legitimately can raise a score 20–40 points within 60 days at zero cost. Avoid 'credit repair' companies that charge for this; the legal process is yours to use for free.

Utilisation is calculated two ways: per-card and overall. Both matter. A single card maxed out can hurt your score even if your overall utilisation is low. The sweet spot is under 30% on every card and under 10% overall — at the high end, scoring models penalise you sharply.

Three fast ways to lower utilisation: (1) Pay down balances aggressively, especially on the cards closest to their limit. (2) Ask each card issuer for a credit-limit increase — most approve a 25–50% bump every 6–12 months without a hard pull. (3) Pay your balance before the statement closes (not just before the due date), since utilisation is reported based on the statement balance. Done together, these can drop reported utilisation from 60% to under 15% in one billing cycle and lift your score 40–80 points.

Most negative items fade faster than people fear, but slower than they hope. A late payment hurts most in the first 12 months and progressively less over the next 4 years before falling off at 7 years. A collection account behaves similarly, but paying it off (with 'pay for delete' negotiated in writing where possible) can speed score recovery.

A realistic timeline: a score in the low 600s with one or two late payments and high utilisation can typically reach the mid-700s in 9–18 months with disciplined effort. A score recovering from bankruptcy takes 2–4 years to reach prime territory. There is no magic shortcut — but the path is well-defined, and the Advisor gives you the specific actions in the right order for your situation.